Eugène Grébaut, the French Egyptologist who made countless contributions to archaeological work in Egypt

CAIRO – 2 June 2022: Eugène Grébaut was a French Egyptologist who made numerous significant contributions to archaeological work in Egypt, as he succeeded in discovering many ancient Egyptian treasures.

Born on June 1, 1846, Eugène Grébaut made a number of important discoveries in the complex of funerary temples and tombs at Deir el-Bahari, including the discovery of many Egyptian mummies from the 21st Dynasty.

He also held many positions within the Egyptian archaeological field. In 1883, he succeeded Eugène Lefébure as director of the French Institute of Oriental Archeology in Cairo. Three years later, he succeeded Gaston Maspero as director of the Egyptian Antiquities Directorate, a position he held until 1892. He then worked as a lecturer of ancient history at the Sorbonne University in Paris.

Grébaut also worked in the Pyramids Antiquities Area, where he was one of the people who worked on removing sand from around the Great Sphinx. At the beginning of 1887, the box in front of the Sphinx was uncovered, the paws and the plateau appeared, the feet of the Sphinx were revealed and the space between the paws was uncovered.

Grébaut also discovered the Dream Stele, a memorial ordered by Pharaoh Thutmose IV to be placed between the outstretched hands of the Great Sphinx in Giza, in commemoration of a dream he had before ascending to the throne of Egypt in 1401 BC.

Grébaut also wrote a book titled “The Hymn of Amun-Ra Papyrus of the Egyptians” in 1874. It is now placed in the Bulaq Museum.

Grébaut passed away on January 8, 1915.